Novonix, a Chattanooga-based battery materials manufacturer, has secured rights to purchase a property next door to its facility off Riverfront Parkway as an alternative to a planned second site at Enterprise South Industrial Park.
The company has entered a 150-day period to perform due diligence as a potential buyer of the 17.5-acre property formerly home to a wind tower manufacturer called Aerisyn, said Robert Long, chief financial officer at Novonix.
The move would not decrease the investment or the number of jobs Novonix plans to create with a second facility, Long said.
The synthetic graphite maker received a 15-year, $54 million tax break from the city and county last year in exchange for creating 500 jobs at the $1 billion second plant planned for a 182-acre parcel near Volkswagen.
If it decides to purchase the former Aerisyn plant, Novonix would likely not buy the Enterprise South land but would try to transfer the tax break to the neighboring site.